Faculty Snapshot: Professor applies principles of operations management to new areas

Lian Qi

Associate professor, Supply Chain Management, and chair of the Supply Chain Management Department

Expertise: Operations management

Research: In his newest research, Professor Qi seeks to apply operations management principles and techniques to resolve customer service issues in a variety of fields, such as healthcare service and the service operations for electric vehicles. Specifically, he is researching practices to improve operations at electric vehicle recharging-swapping stations and reduce the high inventory cost of batteries. In another research project, he is applying business analytic techniques to study large data sets from hospitals to determine whether and how healthcare policy changes impact the behaviors of physicians, patients and, ultimately, health outcomes. The research focuses on patients from different socioeconomic groups in urban settings.

 

Why did he decide to make a career in academia: “My father is a professor who has inspired my various interests since I was a child. The second reason is that after I worked as a supply chain management consultant at SAP, I wanted to study more theoretical concepts in this area. I also love to work with students. This makes me feel that I can really help many people not just help a department within a company.”

His favorite place: “One of my favorite places is Heidelberg, a city in Germany near Frankfurt. The very old and famous university, the city’s amazing cultural environment, and the beautiful castles there really attract me.”

Quote: “My research goes beyond the traditional supply chain domain. The topics must be new and relevant, and related to areas of high impact.”

Photo illustration credit: Kentoh-iStock-Thinkstock